AI for Conservation

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Artificial intelligence is increasingly being used in the field to analyse information collected by wildlife conservationists, from camera trap and satellite images to audio recordings. AI can learn how to identify which photos out of thousands contain rare species; or pinpoint an animal call out of hours of field recordings - hugely reducing the manual labour required to collect vital conservation data.

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With new technologies revolutionizing data collection, wildlife researchers are becoming increasingly able to collect data at much higher volumes than ever before. Now we are facing the challenges of putting this information to use, bringing the science of big data into the conservation arena. With the help of machine learning tools, this area holds immense potential for conservation practices. The applications range from online trafficking alerts to species-specific early warning systems to efficient movement and biodiversity monitoring and beyond.

However, the process of building effective machine learning tools depends upon large amounts of standardized training data, and conservationists currently lack an established system for standardization. How to best develop such a system and incentivize data sharing are questions at the forefront of this work. There are currently multiple AI-based conservation initiatives, including Wildlife Insights and WildBook, that are pioneering applications on this front.

This group is the perfect place to ask all your AI-related questions, no matter your skill level or previous familiarity! You'll find resources, meet other members with similar questions and experts who can answer them, and engage in exciting collaborative opportunities together.

Just getting started with AI in conservation? Check out our introduction tutorial, How Do I Train My First Machine Learning Model? with Daniel Situnayake, and our Virtual Meetup on Big Data. If you're coming from the more technical side of AI/ML, Sara Beery runs an AI for Conservation slack channel that might be of interest. Message her for an invite.

Header Image: Dr Claire Burke / @CBurkeSci

Explore the Basics: AI

Understanding the possibilities for incorporating new technology into your work can feel overwhelming. With so many tools available, so many resources to keep up with, and so many innovative projects happening around the world and in our community, it's easy to lose sight of how and why these new technologies matter, and how they can be practically applied to your projects.

Machine learning has huge potential in conservation tech, and its applications are growing every day! But the tradeoff of that potential is a big learning curve - or so it seems to those starting out with this powerful tool!

To help you explore the potential of AI (and prepare for some of our upcoming AI-themed events!), we've compiled simple, key resources, conversations, and videos to highlight the possibilities:

Three Resources for Beginners:

Everything I know about Machine Learning and Camera Traps, Dan Morris | Resource library, camera traps, machine learning
Using Computer Vision to Protect Endangered Species, Kasim Rafiq | Machine learning, data analysis, big cats
Resource: WildID | WildID

Three Forum Threads for Beginners:

I made an open-source tool to help you sort camera trap images | Petar Gyurov, Camera Traps
Batch / Automated Cloud Processing | Chris Nicolas, Acoustic Monitoring
Looking for help with camera trapping for Jaguars: Software for species ID and database building | Carmina Gutierrez, AI for Conservation

Three Tutorials for Beginners:

How do I get started using machine learning for my camera traps? | Sara Beery, Tech Tutors
How do I train my first machine learning model? | Daniel Situnayake, Tech Tutors
Big Data in Conservation | Dave Thau, Dan Morris, Sarah Davidson, Virtual Meetups

Want to know more about AI, or have your specific machine learning questions answered by experts in the WILDLABS community? Make sure you join the conversation in our AI for Conservation group!

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@jamie_mac

Sea Mammal Research Unit Univ' St Andrews

I work in marine bioacoustics with a focus on the conservation of marine mammals. Most of the time I'm developing and using passive acoustic technology to study the underwater behaviour of dolphins and porpoises. I'm also a keen developer on the PAMGuard project.

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@Yemisi

BirdLife International

I deliver policy and advocacy components of cross-regional projects and initiatives concerning international site-based conservation, including through international mechanisms such as the Ramsar Convention, Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) and World Heritage Convention.

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@billoxbury
| he/him

Mathematician and data/AI scientist, interested in environmental applications; wildlife photographer and volunteer.

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@TheDataEnthusiastic
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Hi, I'm pursuing Master's in Data Science. And I want work help protect nature and wildlife.

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@Felipe-Spina

World Wide Fund for Nature/ World Wildlife Fund (WWF)

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@Alejandro
| He

This climate crisis does not have to be a story of loss but rather a story of redemption, rebirth, and change. My paintings capture the spiritual nature, the grounding energy of our shared existence with the natural world. AML-ART.COM

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@jodirowley
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Conservation biologist obsessed with frogs

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@Nahun

Sound art and design

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@apcxs
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@Ann_Wambui

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@denizgoek

I am a Geoscientist interested in using geospatial data science to contribute to solutions of today’s environmental challenges. I mostly worked with land surafce temperature data from satellites and drones to study how high mountain landscapes respond to climate change.

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@Helga_Kuechly
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World Wide Fund for Nature/ World Wildlife Fund (WWF)

I am a Geo-ecologist, who loves to use GIS, remote sensing, citizen science and knowledge transfer to shape for a better future for nature - We are part of nature, so let's act like it!

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Description	Activity	Replies	Groups	Updated
Applications are open for the Sustainability Leadership Recognition in Robotics!	We just wanted to share this news outside the core robotics community - hoping to connect more with conservationists, researchers,...		AI for Conservation, Drones	6 months ago
AddaxAI - Free AI models for camera traps photos identification	Hi Lucie @luciegallegos ,Great to see ecoSecrets and happy to collaborate in any way I can! All EcoAssist's models are open-source, and the inference code too. With regards to...	+10	Software Development, AI for Conservation, Camera Traps	6 months ago
Camera Trap Data Visualization Open Question	Another question. Right now pretty much all camera traps trigger on either PIR sensors or small AI models. Small AI models would tend to have a limitation that they would...		AI for Conservation, Camera Traps, Data management and processing tools, Open Source Solutions, Software Development	6 months ago
Low-power acoustics systems	Hi Lucille,Thank you for your reply! We’d be really interested in learning more about your developments. We’ll contact you soon to arrange a discussion.Thank you.Best regards,...		Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Sensors	6 months 1 week ago
AI for Bird and Bat Recognition	Hi Lorenzo,I highly recommend the OpenSoundscapes package (developed by the Kitzes Lab at U Pittsburgh) - there are workflows to build your own CNNs there, the documentation is...		Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Animal Movement, Open Source Solutions	6 months 1 week ago
Writing about conservation technologies on LinkedIn	This is probably seen a bit as "self-branding" which I hope is alright, otherwise please let me know! I have spent the past few months...		AI for Conservation	6 months 1 week ago
Machine learning for bird pollination syndromes	We are putting together a special issue in the journal Ostrich: Journal of African Ornithology and are welcoming (review) papers on the use of AI in bird research. https://www....		AI for Conservation, Software Development, Citizen Science, Data management and processing tools	6 months 1 week ago
AI in Ornithology	Hi Adrien,Submissions are open for the special addition. Please email David Ehlers Smith - david.ehlers.smith@birdlife.org.za for more details. We are also soliciting reviewers....		AI for Conservation	6 months 1 week ago
Giving different types of labeled data to the community - solutions?	Hello everyone!During my master thesis in engineering (past autumn), I developed Machine Learning for anti-poaching. As such, I recorded a...		Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Data management and processing tools	6 months 1 week ago
Automatic acoustic annotation (Deep Voice) - Looking for new projects and collaboration.	Hey everyone! We’re Deep Voice Foundation, a non-profit using AI to help conserve marine wildlife. We develop acoustic...		Acoustics, AI for Conservation	6 months 2 weeks ago
Data science/analyst interested in volunteering for research or app development	Hello everyone. My name is Bilal. I recently graduated with a degree in bioengineering and hold a bachelor's degree in computer science,...		AI for Conservation, Animal Movement, Human-Wildlife Coexistence, Marine Conservation	7 months ago
Looking for bird and bat audio datasets and related research for biodiversity AI project	Hey, please find here a dataset about nocturnal bird calls in Europe	+5	Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Software Development	7 months ago

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